The internet, a place made for people to socialize, make friends, and an easy way to keep touch has turned into the main cause of depression in adolescents. In a study by Pew Research center “ found that 46 percent of US teens (ages 13–17) have been bullied or harassed online”. This is almost half of the teenage population in the United states. Knowing this number, walking into my highschool it is most likely half the teens in my school have faced some sort of cyberbullying. Frightening.
Being bullied affects different people in different ways. It may affect the way someone thinks about their appearance, their body, their personality, their social status. Cyberbullying can turn someone's imperfections into the most embarrassing thing about them. It makes people see themselves in a different light. In an article written by NewPort academy they wrote “Both targets and perpetrators of online harassment are more likely to have low self-esteem.” Kids who bully hate parts of themselves and choose to feel better by calling out someone else for their flaws. Cyberbullying is on of the main reasons for suicide among teenagers. It makes a kid feel insecure, hate themselves, depressed and can make a teenager kill themselves. New port accademys respearch claims that 93 percent of tennagers have bad mental health due to cyberbullying. Sickening to even think about.
A harsh reality is that there are only so many ways to protect yourself from cyberbullying. The only real protection is to leave all social media. On one hand this is the only real beneficial way to avoid cyberbullying but on the other hand it's blocking you off from a social life. In today's day all kids communicate through social media. Would it be considered social suicide if you were cut off of all social media? Would it harm kids more to experience cyberbullying or not experience any online and social relationships? Both options have negative impacts on teenagers and kids. Not being on social media can block teenagers from making friends, getting invited to places and having a social life. On the other hand cyberbullying affects most teenagers and causes mental instability to almost every teenager affected. There is no right or wrong answer on how to protect teenagers from cyberbullying.
A source from the New York Times wrote “The bullies have moved from the playground to the mobile screen, and there is no escaping harassment that essentially lives in your pocket”. This is the best way to explain cyberbullying. It can follow you everywhere you go, anytime of the day, to any person. Cyberbullying has taken an important resource like the internet and made it into such an awful place to connect.